2011-2012

Issues

Sponsored legislation

HB 276 - Relating to the requirement that state agencies report the cost of services and benefits provided to undocumented immigrants.

HB 492 - Relating to the expansion of faith- and community-based health and human services and social services initiatives.

HB 497 - Relating to a study to determine the effect on the health care infrastructure in this state if the state Medicaid program is abolished or a severe reduction in federal matching money under the program occurs.

HB 641 - Relating to the abolition of the Texas Transportation Commission and the creation of a commissioner of transportation as an elected statutory state officer.[2]

Campaign themes

2012

Lower Property taxes - "I will work to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot that will limit [property tax] increases to 5 percent a year."

Quality Education - "I will press for further reform to ensure that additional money goes into the classroom, not the bureaucracy, and that students are taught the basics."

Immigration Control - "Due to the federal government's failure to secure our border, we expanded state efforts to cut off common crossing areas, implemented new technology to identify where the leaks are and increased penalties on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. I support increased efforts in all these areas and more, including laws that require photo ID at the polls and prevent illegal immigrants from getting Texas driver's licenses."

Property rights - "I strongly supported the Republican-led efforts that limited the government's power under eminent domain to take a person's property for private development and enacted a Landowner's Bill of Rights that protects land owners from abusive government practices."

Government spending - "We must limit government's ability to grow faster than the combined rates of inflation and population growth, ensure greater transparency in budgeting and spending, and prevent revenue raised from a specific tax from being used on anything other than its intended purpose."

Scorecards

Empower Texans Fiscal Responsibility Index

Empower Texans produces the Fiscal Responsibility Index as "a measurement of how lawmakers perform on size and role of government issues." The index uses "exemplar votes on core budget and free enterprise issues that demonstrate legislators' governing philosophy."[14] Legislators are graded along a standard grading scale, receiving grades A through F based on their performance during the legislative session.

2011

John Zerwas received a grade of C+ on the 2011 Fiscal Responsibility Index.

Personal

John and his wife, Cindy, graduated from Bellaire High School in 1973 and were married in 1978. They have four children, John Jr., Joseph, Brandon, Sherry, and a son-in-law Matthew.

Recent news

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